Best of

the Twin Cities

BEST PANCAKE

Colossal Cafe

There are benefits to voluntarily entering a restaurant that, kitchen space and all, roughly approximates the size of your bedroom. First, you can be openly nosy without ever appearing so. No amount of eye contact with the hot dude at the next table will be awkward. Where else are you supposed to look? Plus, hello, eavesdropping! The downside is that no one's really ever talking about their weird sexual proclivities or their recent Nepalese yak trip. All everyone is talking about is the food. But that's okay, because once you've tasted Colossal Café's fare, it's all you'll be talking about, too. You'd think a place that has so much skill to flaunt would put something basic like pancakes on autopilot, to focus on, say, its delicate, to-die-for pastries, but no. Colossal Café's pancakes are so special they have their own flappers. Sweet and thick and larger than life, they have a faint extra bite from the yeast in the recipe, and a pretty dusting of powdered sugar on top. They don't even need syrup, though we can't say we fully endorse going without.